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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

cottage pie

a friend of ours started a st patty's day tradition way back in the day; every year he cooks up a traditional corned beef dinner and invites his buddy's over to celebrate with a few Irish lagers

as we all know life happens- this friend of ours found an amazing girl, fell in love and moved in

the tradition was set aside but not forgotten; i was just saying to Justin how i missed the traditional st patty's day dinner when i received a message from our friend - the dinner is back on this year

i cannot tell you how super excited i was - i mean so excited that i committed to the dinner even before asking Justin if we had plans....well regardless, i had my plan -

i was heading to celebrate the holiday with or without him

this friend of ours is super sweet - he knows that we are vegan/vegetarian, the first thing he wanted to know is what he could cook for us. i know how much work he puts into the dinner so i volunteered to bring a few dishes to share. he loves to cook and explore different ways of cooking so i am sure he will have something fabulous for us all well.

one of my contribution's to the st patty's day potluck will be this very cottage pie

cottage pie is a traditional Irish dish made of lamb & potatoes;

in England it is made with beef and called Shepard's pie.

let me share with you my version of cottage pie

lentils create the "meaty" texture along with portobellas

parsnips, carrots, red onion, kale & rosemary for taste & texture

and of course perfectly seasoned mashed potatoes top it off

all the ingredients - minus the potatoes are simmered in veggie broth with a bit of salt

once the lentils have softened, mini ramekins are filled and topped with mashed potatoes
then baked until the tips & edges of the potato begin to turn golden brown

this was a dish that i needed to test before serving to a crowd, it needed Justin's final approval

i wasn't sure what he would think; i thought the final dish was perfect...with the exception of the lentils being a bit al dente - but that is an easy fix, i simply adjusted the cooking times

the smell was intoxicating; i simply love fresh rosemary

while making this dish i decided that rosemary is an absolute must in the garden this year

i was quite surprised when Justin gave two thumbs up, the dish was a winner - after 8 years you would think i would be able guess what his rating will be; nope, he surprises me every time

for the st patty's day potluck i plan on preparing this in a large baker or a crock pot

along with a side of Irish soda bread and we are on our way to a pretty tasty vegan dinner

Cottage Pie

makes 6 ramekins or 1 medium baker/casserole

you will need:

1 cup dried lentils - rinsed

2 tsp fresh rosemary woody stems removed - minced

1 medium carrot cut into rounds

1 large parsnip - large dice

1/2 cup red onion - medium dice

1 portobella sliced and cubed

1 cup kale - stem removed and torn

1 tsp olive or cooking oil

4 cups veggie broth

4 potatoes peeled & washed

1 tsp salt - divided (1/2 tsp for lentils & 1/2 tsp for potatoes)

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 vegan creamer or vegan milk

1 tbsp vegan butter

assembly

wash & prep all veggies

peel potatoes and boil until fork tender

while the potatoes are boiling, in a large saute pan fitted with a cover add lentils through olive oil - over medium/high heat saute until onion begins to soften and rosemary is fragrant - add veggie broth & cover. Reduce heat to low & simmer for 20 -25 minutes until lentils are soft.

Pre heat oven to 350*

Drain potatoes and mash to desired consistency adding in salt through butter

place 6 ramekins on a rimmed sheet pan if using

fill each ramekin to the top with the lentil mixture and cover with mashed potatoes

if using a baker - place lentil mixture in bake and top with mashed potatoes

bake in for 15 minutes or until the tips and edges of potatoes turn golden

remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes prior to serving - garnish with sprigs of rosemary if desired

What a nice dinner guest you are! I've had Shepherd's pie a couple of times when I was younger, but I never looked forward to it (I wasn't a fan of the meaty filling). I much prefer the sounds of your lentil and veggie filling and I'm sure everyone at the potluck will be impressed :)

I hope they will be impressed, however it is a tough crowd - they are a totally meat and potatoes type people with the exception of the Host, Matt....his love is a hardcore meat eater, so it should be interesting - at least I won't go hungry!

Relationships. Pshesh. They always ruin everything, don't they? Wait a minute, that doesn't sound right...But what does look right are these cottage pies :) {you like the tie-in?} You wouldn't happen to be Irish along with Caitlin and myself, now would you?

i would eat the nice browned up mashed tato tops and and then pass on the lentil mix to hubbs.. ;) and if he is with a bunch of people at a party.. he would be yapping away or having a serious discussion and will eat anything that i hand him.. including a topless pie! love those cute ramekins! i love the lentil and shroom filling too.. just not as much as some browned up mashed potatoes:)

What great news for you! I wish my friends and I had traditions like that. Well, we kind of do on Christmas. But we meet at a truck stop restaurant at midnight and I can't eat a single thing on the menu. Anyway! My boyfriend is making a cottage pie for me this weekend.. I'm going to make him use your recipe :) Cannot wait to try it!

PS - what kind of camera do you use? Your photos are vibrant and gorgeous.

What a fun tradition! Before going Vegan there was this awesome truckstop by by Sisters College in Maine - so awesome I even bought one of their T-Shirts; they had the best breakfast and Homemade Bread, oh Dysarts how I miss you so :)

I have a Sony DSC-HX100V - one day I ill have a DSLR, but i do love the Manual Control on my Sony....if only there was a way to add a 50mm lens- thank you for the compliment on the photos, it is nice to hear that I am improving!